Die cast toy vehicles



1957 E. w. HERDKLOTZ 2,775,847

DIE CAST TOY VEHICLES Filed Dec. 10. 1954 lnvan'l'or Earl W. Heraklofz United States Patent DIE CAST TOY VEI-HCLES Earl W. Herdklotz, Rockford, 111., assignor to A & E

Tool and Gage Co. (Inc. Rockford, 11]., a corporation of Illinois This invention relates to toy vehicles having a body of improved die cast construction, the improvement being particularly in the bosses in which the axle receiving bearing recesses are provided.

It is preferred to have the rubber. composition wheels of the vehicle fixed on the axles as by a press lit in a machine assembly operation, because that eliminates costlier hand assembly work and permits preassembly and stocking of the wheel and axle sub-assemblies. That, however, presents a difiicult problem of how to insure freedom of rotation of the axles in their bearings, especialiy if for the final (machine) assembly operation the open ends of the bearings are to be swedged closed for retention of the ends of the axles. In accordance with my invention, therefore, U-shaped bearing bosses are formed integral with the side walls of the body in the die casting thereof, and, although the arms of the U in each boss are purposely made fairly thin so as to enable easily swedging their ends inwardly, they are supported adequately at their junction with the wall to prevent any distortion of the rest of the bearing as the end portions of the arms are sheared from the wall in the swedging operation to close the open side of the bearing. With this improved bearing construction it is immaterial whether the axles terminate in the bearings, the wheels being set inwardly from the ends thereof and semi-concealed inside the body, or the axles extend through the bearings, the wheels being assembled on the protruding outer end portions outside the body.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a bottom view of a toy vehicle made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the body in the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. l with the body shown resting in a cavity of an assembling block preparatory to the swedging operation, the view illustrating the method of swedging the sides of the bearing recesses inwardly in a punch press to retain the ends of the axles inserted in the bearings;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the sides of the bearing recesses swedged, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a similar construction used in another toy vehicle having the wheels disposed outside the body.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout these views.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, but first mainly to Fig. 1, the reference numeral 5 designates the die cast hollow body of a toy automobile. On the inner side of the side walls 6 and 7 the body 5 has bosses 8 cast integral therewith and these bosses have U-shaped lower .end portions 9 defining bearing recesses 10 in which the end portions of the axles 11 are adapted to be received with freedom for easy rotation. It is with these axle receiving bearing recesses 10 that my invention is particularly concerned.

As I previously indicated, it is preferred to have the wheels 12 of the vehicle, which are usually of molded rubber construction, fixed on the axles 11 as by a press 2,775,847 Patented Jan. 1, 1957 ice 2 fit in a machine assembly operation, because that eliminates costlier hand assembly work, as would be involved, for example, with fixed axles having Wheels rotatable thereon and loosely assembled by hand on the axles just prior to the placement and fastening of the axles in the body. With the present construction, in which the Wheels areheld with a press fit on the axles and the axles are adapted to turn in the bearings, goes the advantage that the wheels may be assembled on the axles ahead of time and the wheel and axle sub-assemblies may be stockpiled, besides the advantage already mentioned of greatly reduced manufacturing cos-t resulting from the substitution of machine assembly work for hand assembly work.

However, the use of free running axles presents a difficult problem of how to insure this freedom of rotation in the bearings, especially if for the final (machine) assembly operation the open ends of the bearing are to be swedged closed for retention of the ends of the axles. In accordance with my invention, therefore, the U-shaped bearing bosses 9 are formed integral with the side walls of the body 5 in the die casting thereof, and, although the arms of the U in each bearing boss are purposely made fairly thin in relation to the length that is swedged inwardly, so as to enable easier swedging, as indicated at 12 in Fig. 3, the arms are supported adequately at their junction with the side walls to prevent any distortion of the rest of each bearing as the end portions of the arms are sheared from the side walls as indicated at 13 in the swedging operation, to close the bearing. This swedging is done in a punch press while the body 5 rests in a cavity 14 in an assembling block 15 fixed to the table of the punch press, thus assuring the necessary accurate alignment of the four U-shaped bearing bosses 9 with four narrow blade punches like the two shown at 16 in Fig. 2. Each of these punches has a V-shaped notch 17 in the lower end thereof and works parallel to and closely alongside the inner side of a side wall of the body to swedge the end portions of the arms of the U-shaped bearing bosses 9 inwardly, as shown at 12 in Fig. 3, shearing these portions from the side walls in the swedging operation, as indicated at 13. Since the block 15 accurately locates the body 5 in relation to the stroke of the punches 16, there is no danger whatever of the end portions of the arms of either U 9 ever being swedged too far and thereby confining an end of either of the axles 11 too closely and interfering with the freedom of rotation of one or both axles with their wheels. Close uniformity in quantity production is thereby assured and a higher grade toy is made available at a much lower price.

Referring to Fig. 4, the body 5' of the toy automobile therein disclosed is also die cast like the body 5 of the toy automobile shown in Fig. l. The construction is substantially the same but slots 18 are provided in the side walls in register with the bearing recesses 10 so that the axles 19, even though they are retained in the bearing recesses for freedom of rotation in the same way, as indicated by the swedged-in end portion 12' of the arms of the U-shaped bearing bosses 9', can project from the body on both sides and carry the wheels 20 on the outside. Here again, the wheels 20 are pressed onto the axles to turn with them but the extremities of the axles are upset, as indicated at 21, to eliminate likelihood of the wheels being pulled off.

In conclusion, although I prefer the constructions disclosed having the axles rotatable and the wheels fixed thereon, it should be clear that the improved bearing construction also would be advantageous for constructions wherein the axle is fixed and the wheels turn, because the support given the bearing side walls by their connection along one edge with the body walls eliminates the likelihood of any of these side walls cracking at their inner ends when subjected at their outer ends to the swedging operation. With the present construction only the outer end portions that are sheared from the body walls are subjected to inward bending and it is so slight that cracking will not occur, and because the rest of the bearing is so well supported, it will not be dis torted to any extent by the pressure applied by the punch.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. The method of securing a wheel and axle assembly to a toy vehicle the body of which is of die cast metal, the method consisting in casting integrally with the side Walls of the body as enlargements thereof a pair of transversely aligned substantially vertical bosses including on the lower ends thereof inverted U-shaped portions defining bearing recesses, the arms of each U of which are integrally connected along one side with the adjoining side wall, fixing wheels inwardly from the ends of an axle comprising a round rod cut to a length that is slightly less than the width of the body at the bearing recesses and having a diameter less than the width of the bearing recesses, placing the axle in the recesses with the wheels disposed inside the body, and then by roving a punch endwise of the bosses immediately alongside the side walls into engagement with the lower ends of the arms of each U shearing the lower end portions of the arms of each U from the side walls and swedging them inwardly toward each other.

2. The method of securing a wheel and axle assembly to a toy vehicle the body of which is of die cast metal, the method consisting in casting integrally with the side walls of the body as enlargements thereof a pair of transversely aligned substantially vertical bosses including on the lower ends thereof inverted U-shaped portions defining bearing recesses, the arms of each U being integrally connected along one side with the adjoining side wall, the side walls also having slots provided therein in register with the bearing recesses, fixing wheels on the ends of an axle comprising a round rod cut to a length that is appreciably greater than the width of the body at the bearing recesses and having a diameter less than the width of the bearing recesses, placing the axle in the slots and bearing recesses with the wheels disposed outside the body, and then by moving a punch endwise of the bosses immediately alongside the side walls into engagement with the lower ends of the arms of each U shearing the lower end portions of the arms of each U from the side walls and swedging them inwardly toward each other.

3. In a wheeled toy vehicle, a hollow body of die cast metal having integral with the side walls on the inner side as enlargements thereof a pair of transversely aligned substantially vertical bosses including on the lower ends thereof inverted U-shaped portions defining bearing recesses, the arms of each U of which are integrally connected along one side with the adjoining side wall, an axle in the form of a straight, smooth, round rod of a length slightly less than the width of the body at the bearing recesses and of a diameter less than the width of the bearing recesses, and wheels fixed on said axle inwardly from the ends thereof for operation in inwardly spaced relation to said bosses, the end portions of the axle being rotatably received in the bearing recesses and retained against displacement therefrom by the lower end portions of the arms of each L which are bent inwardly toward each other relative to the side walls.

4. In a wheeled toy vehicle, a hollow body of die cast metal having integral with the side walls as enlargements thereof a pair of transversely aligned substantially vertical bosses including on the lower ends thereof inverted U-shaped portions defining bearing recesses, the arms of each U of which are integrally connected along one side with the adjoining side wall, said side walls also having slots provided therein in register with the bearing recesses, an axle in the form of a straight, smooth, round rod of a length that is appreciably greater than the width of the body at the bearing recesses and of a diameter less than the width of the bearing recesses, and wheels fixed on the end portions of said axle for operation in outwardly spaced relation to the side walls of said body, said axle being disposed in the slots and bearing recesses with the wheels disposed outside the body, said axle being rotatable in said bearing recesses and held against displacement therefrom by the lower end portions of the arms of each U which are bent inwardly toward each other relative to the side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,996,109 Hiering Apr. 2, 1935 2,186,188 Allen Jan. 9, 1940 2,284,998 Varney June 2, 1942 2,510,310 Francis June 6, 1950 2,540,317 Baggott Feb. 6, 1951 2,590,515 Derham Mar. 25, 1952 2,677,216 Hein May 4, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 614,569 Great Britain Dec. 17, 1948 1,038,061 France May 6, 1953 

